December 2011 Highlights

December 2011 saw four topics updated in The Laws of Australia.

Subtitle 6.4 Consumer Protection Legislation and the Media

Updated by Melissa Di Rienzo, Legal Editor, The Laws of Australia

This Subtitle explores the role of consumer protection legislation in the regulation of media-related publications, particularly in respect of misleading or deceptive conduct and in the wake of the commencement of the Australian Consumer Law in early 2011. The Australian Consumer Law applies as a single, national consumer law across the States and Territories, effectively superseding the State and Territory Fair Trading Acts.

Subtitle 6.5 Australian Press Council

Updated by Melissa Di Rienzo, Legal Editor, The Laws of Australia

The Australian Press Council (APC) oversees journalistic standards and acts as a complaints-handling body for material published by the press. This Subtitle explores the role, function and structure of the APC and focuses on its complaints process, which is informed by the APC’s overall Standards of Practice, in particular the General Statement of Principles and the Statement of Privacy Principles.

Subtitle 10.2 Assault and Related Offences [10.2.1360] – [10.2.1660]

Updated by Patrick Leader-Elliott, Lecturer, School of Law, University of South Australia

This Subtitle now includes a new, updated chapter on abortion-related offences, originally part of Subtitle 10.1 "Homicide". The law as it currently stands does not regard abortion, child destruction and concealment of birth as homicide insofar as the wrongful killing of a person requires that the person has an existence separate from his or her mother. As such, abortion-related offences are more appropriately dealt with under this Subtitle.

Subtitle 35.1 Misleading or Deceptive Conduct

Updated by Victoria Lambropoulos, Lecturer, School of Law, Deakin University

This Subtitle has been updated to reflect the enactment in early 2011 of the Australian Consumer Law. The Australian Consumer Law applies as a single, national consumer law and replaces the equivalent consumer protection provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), which has been renamed the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth). The various State and Territory Fair Trading Acts, though still in existence, now defer to the Australian Consumer Law.

Jan/Feb 2012 currently planned updates

(Subtitles are subject to change):

• 5 Civil Procedure 5.6 “Interlocutory Proceedings and Preservation of Property”
• 7 Contract: General Principles 7.8 “Discharge”
• 16 Evidence 16.3 “Proof in Criminal Cases”
• 16 Evidence 16.4 “Testimony”
• 16 Evidence 16.7 “Privilege and Public Interest Immunity”
• 35 Unfair Dealing 35.3 “Improper Business Practices”
• 35 Unfair Dealing 35.4 “Remedies”

For a complete list of recent and forthcoming updates, visit The Laws of Australia homepage.